Propeller for sleighs



Oct. 12 1926. 1,602,547

E. NoRuM PROPELLER FR SLEIGHS,

Filed Nov. 19. 1925 2 Sheets-Sheet l E. NORUM PROPBLLER FOR SLEIGHS oct.12 1926. I 1,602,547

Filed Nov. 19, 1925 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented Oct. 12, 1926.

1,6o2,.'447r PATENT ori-frcs'.

ELMER NoRUM-,l or" HALLocx, MINNESOTA.

Application ledjNovem'br 19,` 1925;Y Serial. No. 70,131. Y

This invention relates to motor sleighsand. the like, and particularlyto the' propellers thereof;

The general object of the invention is tov provide an improvedvpropellerdesigned to bedriven by an 4engine-mounted upon the sleigh,this propellerA being so constructed that it not only has arotary'motion against the snow but-a sliding motionas well rela tiveto.-the snow so that soft snowy which' would-othervvisetend to gatheruponvthe propeller `will be swept-off.

A further object is toY provide a propeller for a motor sleighconsistingoftwo or four cylinders driven by the engine on the sleigh,these cylinders beingl disposed at such an angle to the line ofdraftthat Whenithey revolve they Will have also a sliding movenient, thecylinders both propelling. the sleigh and assisting in carrying-theload,

and in this connection to provide .a'motor sleigh with cylindricalpropellersvdisposed at an acute angle to the line of dra-ft'to thusreduce v any r'etarding actionof the f cylinders, the angle ofthecylinders to depend upon the amount of load carried.I `The smaller theload, theV greaterthe speed due; to ability to decrease the anglebetween thei cylinders and` the :longitudinal axis; of the;

sleigh to thus secure a greater amountof sliding motion for thecylinders-perrevolution than Where a' greater angley lsvuseds- Otherobjects will appear in the coursev of the following description i Myinvention is illustrated in the accom-A panying drawings,` WhereinzyFigure 1 is a top,*plandiagrammatic View of a sleigh showing mynewpropeller there-- for Figure 2 isfa'sectional View through apr-Qpellel';

.Figure 3 is a top plan view ofthe gearing whereby four propellers maybe drivenfr'omj thesame drive shaft, each ofthesefpropellers beinginclined relative to the line ofgdraft'.l

Referring to thesedrawings, it will be seen that I have illustrateddiagrammatically a frame, designated generally 10, and shown as of anapproximately triangular shape, this frame being pivotally supported at11 upon front runners 12. These runners are steering runners and may besteered in any suitable manner and I have illustrated'a simple handle 13for this purpose, it being understood, however, that more complicatedsteering means might be used.

Disposeduponthe sleigh frame and sup.- ported thereby is 4the engine 14,Which may be'ofany suitable type as, for instance, an?l internal`combustion engine having. adrive, shaft l5., The rear end of the,sleigh is` formed to support twocylinders, each being designatedgenerally 16, the shaft 17A ofV which. intersects the rearV endlof theldriving shaft and is driven therefrom. by` means. shownv as` beveledgears.. conveying p ovverto` the` shafts. 17 and y. driving: them-in Y.the same directionin any suitable manner., the.L gearsbeing'.designatedgenerally 18. 'Ihej` outer ends` of the shafts 17aresupported inl suitable bearings.. l

The cylinders4 consist of al plurality of' radial .armsgor spokes` 19,-vtheserarms being.J held spaced relation by rings 120.l The` spokes f19project through these'rings and,V theAV extremities.l of the. spokescarry upon them the longitudinally. extending blades` f their bladesatvright 4ang-lestothe.longi tudinal axisv ofthe sleigh that thereiswno.sliding action. of the ,prop;ellers, and ,vvheref there-o-.ishanytendency forA the machine` to picklup speed `and movemore rapidly than 1thepropelling means,` thev propelling means acts to .hold it back.because thereisadrag.

of-thepropelling means incenter. Myfarrangement vof the cylinders` 'withtheirV skis permits jthe skis or cylinders to` slidesonie-V what asltheyrotate, and1I have` foundy that the angle at which these propellingcyl-`v inders are to be placed depends entirelyl upon the use to whichthe sleiglristo be put.; -Thej smaller the load, the more acute theangle to which they can be set, and vice versa, and Where the cylindersare disposed at quit-e an .acute angle the skis are found to slide moreper revolution of the cylinder. This secures a greater speed than Wherethe propelling cylinders are disposed .at an angle nearer a right angle.

The particular advantage in placing the cylinders at an acute angle tothe line of draft is to get a sliding motion which provents any snowfrom sticking to the cylinders, or in other Words sticking to the skisand to the space between the skis and packing thereon in case of mildWeather. "Where heavy loads are to oe carried, four cylin ders orpropellers might be used, as illustrated in Figure 3, in which the fourshafts 17 of the corresponding cylinders are each disposed at an acuteangle to the line of draft and each of these cylinders is driven by ashaft 17, these shafts in turn being driven from the common drivingshaft 15 extending from the engine. The width and the length of theskis, that is the skis 21, varies according to the load they areintended to carry.

As illustrated in Figure 1, the shaft carries a beveled gear Wheel 18awhich meshes with a beveled gear Wheel 181 on one of the shafts 17, bothof the shafts being geared to each other by the gear Wheel15. In Figure3, the shaft 15 carries the beveled gear Wheel 18CL which meshes with abeveled gear Wheel 22 mounted upon one of the shafts 17, and the shaft15 also carries a beveled gear Wheel 23 meshing with the oppositelydisposed shaft 17. Also mounted upon the shaft 15 is the beveled gear 2Awhich meshes With one of the rear shafts 17 and the other rear shaft 17is driven by means of a beveled gear Wheel 25 mounted upon the shaft 15.Thus all of the several shafts 17 are driven in the same direction andat the same rate of speed.

I do not Wish to be limited to any particular form of vehicle to whichthese propellers might be applied, as it is obvious that they may beapplied to pleasure sleighs or loadcarrying sleighs, busses, trucks orthe like. Neither do I Wish to be limited to the use of the propellerson the rear end of the vehicle, as they might be placed on the front endof the vehicle and accomplish the same result, provided, of course,there was proper steering mechanism in the rear, these propellers beingdisposed at an angle to the longitudinal axis of the machine less than aright angle. Neither do I wish to be limited to the exact powertransmitting mechanism illustrated, as this might be modified in manyWays Without departing from the spirit of the invention as defined inthe appended claims.

1. A motor-propelled sleigh having a pair of cylindrical propellers atone end, the propellers being formed With blades and the propellersbeing disposed with their axes at an angle to each other and at lessthan a right angle to the longitudinal axis of the sleigh.

2. A self-propelled sleigh having a pair of cylindrical propellers atone end, the propellers being disposed with their axes at an angle toeach other and at an acute angle to the longitudinal axis of the sleigh,each propeller including a circumferential series of longitudinallyextending blades.

3. A self-propelled sleigh having a pair of cylindrical propellers atone end, the propellers being disposed With their axes at an angle toeach other and at an acute angie to the longitudinal axis of the sleigh,each propeller including a circumferential series of longitudinallyextending blades, each propeller including a plurality of series ofspokes radiating from the axle, and longitudinally extending ladescarried by said spokes.

4. A selfpropelled sleigh having a pair of cylindrical propellers at oneend, the propellers being disposed with their axes at an angle to eachother and at an acute angle to the longitudinal axis of the sleigh, eachpropeller including a circumferential series of longitudinally extendingblades, each propeller including a plurality of series of spokesradiating from the axle, and longitudinally extending blades carried bysaid spokes, each blade being slightly convex transversely upon itsouter face and each blade extending outward and rearward relative to thedirection of motion of the propeller.

5. The combination With a sleigh body having front steering runners andan engine. of propelling means for the sleigh body comprising a pair ofcylinders disposed at the rear end of the body and driven from saidengine, the cylinders having their axes disposed at an angle to eachother and at an acute angle to the longitudinal axis of the sleigh, eachcylinder comprising spokes radiating from the corresponding axle,circumferential members holding said spokes in fixed relation, andlongitudinally extending blades mounted upon said spokes.

In testimony whereof I hereunto affix my signature.

ELMER NCRUM.

